Oedipus And Odysseus: A Comparison

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on his own
terms; he becomes increasingly inflexible. Having accepted the
responsibility for saving Thebes, he will on his own see the matter through,
without compromise, without lies, without subterfuge. Oedipus demands from
life that it answers to him, to his vision of what it must be. Throughout
the play he is seeking to impose his will upon events. People around him
are always urging caution, prudence, even an abandonment of his quest, but
to act on such advice would be for Oedipus a denial of what he is. And, as
he repeatedly states, he would rather suffer anything than compromise his
sense of who he is and how he must conduct himself.
Odysseus is quite distinct. He sees everything and is always
prepared to recognize that he has been wrong. He can adapt; that is one
of the most attractive things about the story. The reader may know the
outcome, what holds him is the expectation of some new revelation about
Odysseus' bag of tricks. What will he do next to get out of ...

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